


Wasting Time

by carolinecrane



Series: pancake series [3]
Category: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-08-22
Updated: 2008-08-22
Packaged: 2017-10-22 23:20:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/243672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolinecrane/pseuds/carolinecrane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes the hardest decisions turn out to be pretty easy after all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wasting Time

Greg's not trying to sneak out, exactly. He's not; it's just that they've been through this every day this week, and he's officially out of time. And granted, it's his fault for being such a push-over, but Nick doesn't help. Which is weird, because usually Nick's the responsible one. He's the one who set all sorts of ground rules about fooling around at work, he's the one who makes sure they have milk in the fridge and that the laundry gets done before they're both completely out of clothes. But ever since Warrick...well, a lot of things changed after that.

Their on again-off again relationship has been pretty solidly on, for one thing. And Greg's not sure if it's avoidance or if Nick finally realized how quickly everything can change, but he's not looking a gift horse in the mouth. He started to loosen up a little when they found out about Grissom and Sara, but since Warrick died Nick's barely let Greg out of his sight. It's sweet, in a weird way, and most of the time he doesn't mind. But it's been going on for too long, and it's time for Greg to put his foot down.

He just wants to put as much distance between himself and the possibility of a distraction as possible before Nick wakes up and tries to talk him into staying. Which is the whole problem, because he _wants_ to stay, he just can't.

He gets as far as pulling on a pair of jeans before Nick stirs, and Greg looks over his shoulder in time to see Nick rubbing his eyes and looking over at the clock. "The alarm didn't go off."

"I turned it off," Greg answers, reaching for a shirt as Nick sits up to look at him. The sheet pools around his waist, leaving him sleepy and bare-chested and blinking at Greg, and there's no way he's getting out of here if he starts thinking about how cute Nick looks when he first wakes up. "I was going to wake you before I left."

Nick rubs his eyes again and frowns at Greg, and yeah, that's way too distracting. "Where are you going?"

"I have to stop by my apartment before work." Greg buttons his shirt and reaches for a pair of sneakers. "I told you already."

"Come on, you've blown it off all week, what's one more day?" Nick asks, the same way he's done all week. The only difference is that every other time Greg's brought up going back to his place, he's been in bed with Nick, where it was easy to distract him. And it turns out that getting up early and getting dressed before Nick has a chance to change his mind isn't a fool-proof plan, because what he _wants_ to do is crawl back under the covers with Nick again until they have to leave for work.

"That's the point; I've let you talk me out of going over there all week. If I don't pay my rent today it's late, and then I have to pay extra."

Nick pushes the sheet back and swings his legs over the side of the bed, rubs a hand through his hair and stands up, and _that's_ not helping at all. "Why are you still paying for that place, anyway?"

"What?"

"I mean, you're never there," Nick says, crossing the room to stop in front of Greg and this is totally unfair, because how's he supposed to think when faced with naked Nick Stokes? "When's the last time you spent the night at your place?"

Nick smiles, still a little sleepy but kind of shy too, like the thought just occurred to him and he's nervous about Greg's answer. Only Greg's not even sure what he's asking, and he's definitely not going to assume anything until he knows for sure.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying you spend every night here anyway, there's no point in paying rent on a place you never even use." Nick's arms slide around his waist and Greg lets Nick pull him forward. It's a mistake; he knows it's a mistake, but when Nick leans in to plant a kiss on his neck Greg sighs and leans in anyway. "Just move in with me."

The words are murmured against his skin, so soft that at first he's not sure he's hearing right. And the thing is that it makes sense, but they've never actually _talked_ about it, and it's a big step. Greg knows he should ask if Nick means it, if he's thought it through and if he's really ready for a total commitment, or if this is just some weird reaction to Warrick's death. He should ask if Nick's thought about what this means, because there's no way Greg's giving up his own place if Nick's not in this for the long haul. There are at least twenty good questions he should ask before he gives Nick an answer, but the only one he manages is a feeble, "What?"

"I'm serious, G," Nick says, pulling back and looking at him and his expression, at least, says that he means it. "I love you. Move in with me."

"Okay," Greg hears himself say, and he knows he probably should have asked at least a couple of those questions, but he figures Nick just answered the most important ones. He grins and leans in to press a firm kiss against the corner of Nick's mouth, then unhooks Nick's arms from around him. "If I'm moving in I really have to stop by my apartment. I have to put in my thirty day notice today or I'll have to pay another whole month's rent."

"Can't it wait?" Nick asks, and if Greg wasn't already in a hurry he'd take the time to laugh at Nick for pouting.

"Nope," he says instead, grabbing his jacket and his cell and backing toward the bedroom door. "But I promise I'll make it up to you as soon as we get all my stuff moved in."


End file.
